A notion

Of late, I have begun to believe that, although the church is interested in orthodoxy, it is far more interested in orthopraxy. That is to say, the truly important things that were restored were the ordinances and the priesthood authorizing some to perform them. In part, I have come to this notion due to the general lack of official response to the whole issue of inactivity and the issue of how we count membership. I think we would rather have people baptized than going to church (although we would obviously prefer both).

What think ye?

Historical Mormon Smackdown: Cross Dispensational Apostolic Inspiration edition!

First of all, sorry for the spotty posting of late. Second, it appears that the last Smackdown ended in a tie. I don’t quite know how to respond to that, but since Joseph Smith’s polygamy is more personally disturbing to me, I’ll declare him the winner (the priviliges of the FPR elite, dontchaknow).

Onward and upward,
This weeks topic of contention:
Which early Christian apostle provides a better set of parameters by which to examine the presidency of Brigham Young:
Peter or Paul?

Peter: the rock upon whom the apostolic church was built; authorized the spreading of the word to the Gentiles; the “president” of the quorum of the twelve; apparently irritated by the meanings some people gave to Paul

Paul: mission-oriented; known for giving long speeches that resulted in death; if not a doctrinal innovator, at least someone whose doctrines were taken in new directions; the “least” of the apostles; unafraid to correct senior apostles if he thought that they were wrong

There you go, Happy Halloween. Vote away and comment below.

False Doctrine being taught at BYU?

It is possible that I accidentally taught false doctrine to my students at BYU yesterday, so I am going to put what I said before you, my discerning audience, and allow you to help me decide if a retraction, a clarification, or an affirmation is in order. It made sense at the time, but I was speaking off the cuff and further research has cast some doubt. I have given my students an assignment wherein they are to explain how Christ is both the Father and the Son. We talked about this a bit and then I made the following statement, relying, primarily, on Hebrews 10.

We mortals had no direct access to God, the Father, prior to the Atonement of Christ.

Historical Mormon Smackdown: Polygamist Edition!

Well folks, it turns out that Joseph F. Smith must have more modern influence. I wonder why more people don’t read his books…

Anyhoo, here is this week’s morsel for your comsumption, inspired by though not quite stolen from, Ronan’s post at BCC.

Who is the more troubling polygamist: Joseph Smith, Jr. or Warren Jeffs?

Historical Mormon Prophet Smackdown

Well, it turns out that since I left the last smackdown up long enough, the lead changed twice. Eventually Elder Roberts was ahead and, since I wanted him to win, I stopped the poll before that could change again. Whew!

On to this week’s battle of all time:
Who do you think wields more influence over the church today: President Brigham Young or President Joseph F. Smith?